Economists Christos Kollias (Volos) and Petros Messis (Thessaloniki) conduct a gender-centric convergence analysis based on data from the Varieties of Democracy project for the case of Turkey. Their research was prompted by Turkey's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention and the socalled "Sofagate" incident and should be viewed in the broader context of Turkey’s democratic backsliding and de-Europeanization process.

Political Scientist Carlos Gonzáles-Villa (Toledo) displays an original analysis of how Slovenia's political and ideological–cultural bureaucracy as well as technocracy — as three distinct, often contrasting societal groups in 1980s' Yugoslavia — merged into one dominant sociopolitical class in the process of Slovenia's independence, a position it has successfully reproduced eversince.

Geographers Tomáš Hoch and Viktor Heinz (both Ostrava) explore the problems related to university teaching and academic research within de facto states in the context of their non-recognition via an analysis of the current situation in the higher education sector of Northern Cyprus.

Relying on the interdependence theory, International Relations scholar Pınar Akgül (Giresun) seeks to answer the question: “To what extent does energy ensure cooperation in Russian–Turkish relations, despite current tensions?”

The open section is dedicated to "Film in Focus", with literary and film scholar Dušan Radunović (Durham) reviewing Mila Turajlić's documentary film diptych The Labudović Reels.

In addition, the issue contains four book reviews, all of which are recommend to your attention.

Comparative Southeast European Studies 72, no. 2 (2024) (open access)